New Stranger in Town
by Sara Jaye
Summary: A lot can change in over a decade, but the best things in life remain a constant. Stuart Minkus comes home after a long absence.


"The other side of the school" wasn't a lie, only the rumors that surrounded it. Truth was, Stuart Minkus had been all too glad to bid farewell to the ill-mannered boors from his sixth-grade class and make a fresh start in the honors program. No Shawn Hunter calling him "teacher's pet" or "suckup", no Cory Matthews whining about how the teachers were conspiring against him when in reality his problem was too many video games and not enough studying. No more being hit with the ball in "bombardment". No more-

...okay, there was one minor flaw. Or rather, a major flaw. He glanced down at the yearbook photo in his hand and sighed wistfully. That unruly tangle of curls down her back, the airy peasant blouse, the flowers adorning every surface of her, those eyes, that smile.

Topanga Lawrence, the one great love of his life. He remembered she'd been given the chance to join the honors program and he'd had visions of them studying together, learning, growing closer and her finally accepting his undying love. But alas, she'd stayed on the main side of the school because those two idiots needed her more. Granted, he didn't doubt that Cory Matthews and Shawn Hunter couldn't tie their own shoes without her reminding them which one went on which foot, but he'd still been heartbroken over her decision.

The last time he'd seen her was before their high school graduation and by then she was a whole different person and madly in love with a boy she'd once seen as immature and flaky. He'd been so convinced that she, Matthews and Hunter had forgotten about him completely that he'd been shocked and overjoyed by their sudden group hug after the commencement ceremony.

After that, though? They'd gone to Pembroke while he moved on to Harvard, and years had gone by without so much as a letter exchanged between them. He'd see them on Facebook every now and then, but he always felt funny about commenting on anyone's status.

Then he'd gotten the invitation to their ten-year high school reunion. Realizing he had no meetings or projects to use as an excuse, he bit the bullet and decided to attend.

If nothing else, it would be interesting to see how much things had changed.

-x-

John Adams High. He wouldn't have recognized the place if not for the glowing neon banner; the entire structure of the building had changed and so had the layout. The halls were lined with vending machines and ATMs, only a small wing of the place_ didn't_ have computers in every room, signs were posted advertising Wifi hot spots.

In other words, it was exactly how every other place in today's world was, Stuart thought. But he'd always thought he could count on his alma mater to be a little less...trendy. Theirs had been the last school to start teaching online classes, after all, and now the only evidence of what it used to be were photographs, trophies and plaques lining a memorial hallway.

No matter, though. He was here to see people, not a building. Stuart made his way to the now-enlarged auditorium and pushed the doors open. _Here goes nothing._

"MINKUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUS!" A man he barely recognized came barrelling towards him; Stuart put his hand out in a futile gesture to stop him but couldn't escape the bone-crushing hug that followed. "Hey, everyone, look who's here! I didn't think he'd show but he's here, guys, he's really here!"

"Put...me...down!" Stuart managed to gasp, the man complied and Stuart struggled to take in the air his lungs had so sorely missed in those last few seconds. "Who are you? I've never even seen you before in my life?" The stranger blinked.

"Sure you have! You used to come over to my house all the time and hang out with my brother! Hey, remember the time he dressed you up in those stupid clothes? And then the other time he made you all paint the fence?" Stuart gave the man a once-over and it slowly dawned on him.

"_Eric_? As in...the brother of Cory Matthews? My old nemesis?" It couldn't be, Eric Matthews was a tall, slender man with smooth shiny hair everyone envied. This man was still tall, but he was on the fatter side now and his hair cut close to his head.

"Yeah, buddy, doncha remember me?" Eric laughed. "It's Eric! The cool guy!"

"Somehow I doubt that."

"It's true. Unfortunately, he's not the Eric he used to be." Cory Matthews stood up and approached the two; he'd grown taller and his voice was deeper and he had glasses now, but there was no mistaking that gangly gait and those fuzzy curls. "Minkus, how the heck are ya? I almost didn't recognize ya!"

"Yes, it's me." Stuart couldn't help but laugh. "Funny, you look almost exactly the same."

"I never did get the hang of that hair straightener," Cory quipped. "And Topanga threatened to divorce me if I ever did that again." _Topanga._ The name could still send a pang through his heart.

"So you two are still together, I take it?"

"Together? Heck, we've got _kids_!" Cory grinned and pulled out his wallet. "Two of 'em, a girl and a little boy." They both seemed to favor Topanga and Cory's mother, but there was no mistaking that nose. "Topanga, honey, come on over! Look who's here!"

"Hey, and Shawny's here too! And Angela!" Eric said, not wanting to be ignored. "We're all back together again! Yay!" Stuart glanced at him out of the corner of his eye

"Okay, before the happy reintroductions can commence, I must know," he said. "Eric, you were in high school while we were still learning what menstruation and nocturnal emissions were. You graduated years before us. Unless you married one of the girls in our year, you've got no reason to be here."

"Whaddaya mean?" Eric clapped him on the back. "I had to! It's my little bro's first reunion, I had to make sure he didn't break his back trying to impress people. It starts with one lie and the next thing you know you're tryin' to speak Swahili just to bed some hot chick in a business suit." He sighed. "Boy, I'm an idiot." Topanga gave Cory a look.

"Cory dearest, you weren't planning on bedding a hot chick in a business suit tonight, were you?" As Cory flailed and insisted that no, that was most certainly not the case, Stuart didn't know whether to despair at his love's having become so..._conventional_, or to applaud her having Matthews so whipped. Before he could decide, though, Shawn Hunter strode over, a lovely African-American girl on his arm.

"Well well well! Look's like ol' geekface decided to show," he said, then grabbed Stuart's hand and shook it firmly. "Good to see you again, man."

"Likewise, Hunter." He'd never imagined he'd be glad to see that idiot again. "So who's the unlucky lady?"

"Angela Moore, his lovely wife, mother of his child and the luckiest lady in all of New York City." The woman held out her hand. "You must be the infamous Minkus." Stuart just shook his head.

"So you actually settled down. I saw the wedding announcement in the paper when I got back from Hong Kong, but I thought it was just an April Fool's joke," he said. "Then I realized it was still March." He laughed a little. "Well, congratulations, Hunter. She's a keeper, that one."

"Thanks, buddy." Shawn smiled. "And yeah, she is." He slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her close, his expression a mixture of love and mild sadness. "Every day I remind myself how lucky I am..."

"Shawn." Angela smiled. "All that's in the past."

"I know. But really, if it weren't for you and Cory-"

"Hey, don't go getting all soppy on us!" Eric cut him off. "We're here to remember all the fun times, not mope over stuff!" Stuart blinked. Yes, there was definitely something different about Shawn Hunter. Something more wise and mature, but also a little melancholy.

"Did I miss something? I mean, aside from the obvious?"

"College was a rough four years for him," Topanga said. "Not academically, but..."

"It all started when I met my half-brother," Shawn said. "Then Dad died and a bunch of skeletons fell out of the Hunter family closet. I spent years tryin' to cram 'em all back in until Angela convinced me to give them a polish."

"A brighter future is worth more than trying to whitewash the past," a familiar voice chimed in. "Hello again, Mr. Minkus! I was hoping you'd be here."

"Mr. Feeny!" Stuart's heart skipped a beat with excitement, his favorite grade school teacher was still alive and well and none worse for the wear. He leaned on a cane now, but he was every bit as dignified as he'd been back in the 6th grade. "The years have been good to you, professor."

"You'd think otherwise after two decades of Eric," Topanga snorted.

"Actually, I think two decades of Eric may be the reason for my longevity," Mr. Feeny said with a grin. Eric beamed.

"Yep, I'm just magic like that. All those years you just thought I was crazy, and you were _wroooooong!_"

"Yes, well." Mr. Feeny rolled his eyes. "It seems we've got quite a bit of catching up to do! Mr. Minkus, how goes the world of business?" Stuart grinned. Finally, here was his chance to show off. Perhaps the nerd returning to his old stomping ground to rub his success in the face of those who belittled him was a tired old stereotype, but he wasn't about to deny his twelve-year-old self this moment of smugness.

"Remember the company Topanga and I pretended to run in sixth grade? Well, it's reality now!" he announced. "And it's recently made the top ten most successful corporations in the United States!"

"So _that's_ why hemp fiber's made such a comeback lately!" Angela said, looking down at her shoulder bag. Topanga's eyes widened as she took a step towards him.

"Stuart...you remembered something we did for a school assignment all those years ago?" She smiled. "I'd almost forgotten about that. Back when I was still that strange girl." She sighed, glancing over the evening gown and strappy sandals she wore. "Sometimes I wonder why I had to change."

"Mrs. Matthews, change is inevitable. Hardly anyone remains the person they were at eleven years old into their adult years," Mr. Feeny said. "What matters is that change is natural, and is for the better."

"Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine," Eric quipped. "But seriously, Pangers, Feeny's right. I mean, when I was eleven I still played with action figures and thought burp jokes were funny."

"Eric, you _still_ play with action figures and you _still_ think burp jokes are funny!" Cory said. Mr. Feeny stifled a snicker.

"Then again, some people never change no matter how much time passes."

"Hey!" Another familiar face joined the crowd. "You talkin' about me?" At the sound of that voice, Shawn's eyes lit up and he turned around to embrace the tall, black-clad man.

"John!"

"Well met, Mr. Turner," Stuart said. The "cool teacher" of John Adams High had mysteriously transferred to the other wing of the school during winter of senior year after recovering from a motorcycle accident. He still had scars and he walked with a slight limp, and his hair was obviously dyed to cover his gray patches. But to Shawn Hunter, it was still the man who'd taken him in as a temporary son.

"Good to see you again, Stu," Mr. Turner said as Shawn let go of him. "Good to see all of you!"

"Geez, Mr. Turner, you're so hard to get a hold of these days," Cory said. "Last we heard you took Ms. Tompkins off to Vegas and married her!"

"Sure did! She's here too, just fixing her lipstick. Again." Mr. Turner smirked. "Oh, and she's pregnant. Just thought I'd let you know." The crowd's collective jaw dropped, as did Eric's near-empty cup of wine.

"What?!"

"At your age, man?" Mr. Feeny shook his head. "Hmm. I should have that talk with Leila when I get home..."

"Way to go, Johnny!" Shawn clapped his father figure on the back. "Glad to see lookin' after me didn't turn you off havin' kids."

"Speaking of which...how's things going with you and Jack?" Mr. Turner asked.

"We're doing okay. I'll...talk to you about it a little later," Shawn said. Mr. Turner nodded, then turned to Angela.

"So you're the lady who finally straightened him out. Good job!"

"It was a group effort," Mr. Feeny said. "Now if Rachel can just do the same for Eric..."

"Before you ask, Minkus, Rachel's a chick who moved in with my half-brother Jack and Eric," Shawn said. "Big love triangle, Jack won, he and Rachel made out and then broke up, Jack moved in with some chick overseas and now Rachel's engaged to Eric."

"Gotcha." Stuart sighed. "Boy, you avoid certain people like the plague for four years and you miss out on everything!"

"To be fair, we probably should have tried harder to keep in touch," Topanga said. "One thing I regret is that you weren't even at our wedding. Even Trini was there and we lost touch after she moved to Idaho in junior year." Ah, yes. Their wedding. Stuart felt that familiar pang of sadness as he remembered that this was once the girl he'd loved and still had a soft spot for.

"It's just the same. I'd hardly know anyone there, and..."

"Actually, I probably would've felt better if you were there." Shawn rubbed the back of his head. "Maybe you'd have kept me from...you know, acting like an entitled jerk."

"Shawny, how many times do I have to tell you it wasn't all your fault?" Cory took the other man's hands in his own. "I should've been more sensitive to your feelings."

"Like all those times I should've been sensitive to yours?"

"You always were." The two men stared adoringly into each other's eyes, and Stuart tried not to laugh. Yes, he remembered those two being closer than close, but right now they almost seemed-

"Lovers." Topanga and Angela finished the thought for him.

"But Topanga's right," Cory said. "Minkus, we're sorry we forgot you existed all those years. From now on, we'll try to call you more often, or something."

"And I'll try to check my Facebook page more than once a month. Or at least remember I've got one," Stuart said. "You know, we never could have had such lovely small talk when we were kids. If I'd known you and Hunter would grow up to be decent people, I'd have stayed on your side of the school."

"Yeah, well, if we knew you'd grow up to be slightly less geeky we'd have stopped by the other side more often," Shawn laughed. "Course, given how I love poetry and Vivaldi now I guess I'm a geek too!" Mr. Turner looked impressed.

"So you learned to read things that aren't X-Men after all!"

"Miracles happen," Angela said. "Though he mentioned a guy named Frankie who made him appreciate it more, so..."

"Someone call my name?" Stuart immediately recognized former thug Frankie Stecchino and his short-as-ever friend Joey, but not the two blondes following them.

"Aha, more introductions are in order. Stuart Minkus, this is my lovely wife Catherine," Mr. Turner said.

"And this one is _my_ lovely wife, Gloria," Frankie added. "Cory and Shawn set me up with her behind a jerk's back. It was one of their better moments." Gloria raised an eyebrow.

"You never told me_ that_ part of the story, dear."

"Yeah, well..."

"So you're the famous Minkus!" Catherine said, taking Stuart's hand. "I overheard Cory and Shawn talking about you all the time."

"Yeah, that'd be me."

"Is it true that one time you discovered the formula for time travel?"

"Funny story about that, actually," Stuart said. "It all started with a math problem in the sixth grade..."

The stories continued long into the night, as did the introductions. As he got to know new friends and re-accquainted himself with the old, Stuart felt a void in his life filling, then disappearing.

A lot could change in ten years, but deep down these were still the people he'd grown up with, and for once in his life he was glad to be "one of the gang". All in all, he'd made the right decision in coming back.

Good old Philly was and always would be his home, after all.


End file.
